The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
by La Flamingo
Summary: In a shattered mirror they look at their reflections and are troubled to find that they themselves cannot decipher who is who and what is what. A study in characters yes, the whole motley crew. Drabbleish.
1. The Bad

**A/N: **Hi, there. I am new to the POTC realm (quite frankly, it has the tendency to frighten me), but I stumbled across this on my computer a couple of weeks ago and was curious if your POTC gals (and guys, maybe) could give it a look. Mainly a bunch of drabbles and--as the title says--a study in characters.

Now for my favorite part of the whole trip, the **Sniveling Disclaimer: **Do not own. Property of Walt Disney Studios, Jerry Bruckheimer Productions and any other big-wig company that helped in the making. I'm only a sixteen-year old chica with too much of an imagination and a laptop. A bad thing to combine when she has wireless, too. O.o

Well, enjoy. :)

* * *

**The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (A Study in Characters)**

* * *

_**The Bad:**_

Three villains they be, the Man, the Captain, and the One of the Sea.

The Captain is the most ruthless of the three, and a deep part of them all know it when they step onto his ship.

Maybe it's the teaspoons upon teaspoons of sugar in his tea that have made him so heartless...the Man tries to casually drink his cup(he pours it so neatly from the kettle, like a gentleman) and has to clench his jaw to prevent gagging, the sweetness causing his throat to seize up.

The One of the Sea is offered tea (sweetly, as if a nice treat for him, maybe remembrance of England) and he slaps outright at the cup, sending the china shattering on the wood floor like glass.

He gives no explanation, but it's easily reasoned that to him the tea would taste like everything else; salt-water, brine, and the bitter cold of something lost.

But the Captain already knows this.

Over the rim of his cup, he smiles.

"More sugar?"


	2. The Good

_**The Good:**_

Three heroes they be, the Woman and Two Pirates (Both of the Sea).

The Woman is strong when they land on the sand bar, proud and magnificent in her anger and her (justified?) rage.

But as they walk, something happens.

The Woman staggers.

And the Two Pirates notice.

Only one smiles.


	3. The Ugly

_**The Ugly: **_

Three gaping wounds they be, Two Women (One Ocean) and the Men They See.

One–bound to her body not by will–sees the ocean and reaches down to touch its beauty. There is a loving look, a gentle caress and expectant smile from her.

But only a mere ripple from the sea.

She hears the ocean laughing at her through the wind.

_Weak, _it whispers, _pathetic. _

The other throws the rope down to her father, hands grasping the railing in a death grip as she wishes, hopes and prays that he'll grab ahold.

The rope slips through his fingers, hissing and snapping coldly and cruelly like the winter wind, and on its way back to her she hears it laughing, hears that one syllable word _death. _

She screams defiance.

* * *

The Men They See intrigue them, frustrate them and love them.

And sometimes they don't know what to do as a result.

**Intrigue**: what lies beneath the skin, muscle and bone? A man looks at her and asks her: "who imprisoned you?" and though there is that rage at all of them–at their ropes, their double-crossing, their lies–she finds herself jerking backward and trying not to whisper "_he did" _even though she knows it's true.

**Intrigue:** does the brain ever work correctly, see the dimensions as it should? He sees her through maddened, bloodshot eyes and tells her very matter-of-factly that she's a hallucination and she wonders if maybe he's right and she's wrong.

**Frustration**: they are all stubborn, never listening to the woman whose words come out simple, frayed and inarticulate, seeing her for charms and superstitious magic. Who is Calypso? Not the woman reared in the swamp, eyes dark with secrets.

No–it is the pretty blond one they assume for the great goddess.

**Frustration**: is there a time when they don't betray, don't lie through their teeth and try to backstab each other? She rages and tries to think of a time that maybe they were honest, but then suddenly remembers.

_You tied him to a mast, remember?_

She quiets abruptly.

**Love**: sometimes they come out in the middle of the night, those men, and simply watch the sky, the stars and then that sleek mirror that serves as the water beneath them.

She watches from a corner, unseen, but knows that the type of quiet devotion shown by them can only be love.

She cannot feel it like she could when she was free and suddenly she is angry.

**Love**: they die for her, and as a result she feels like she owes them all something. There is that guilt, gnawing at the bottom of her stomach when Will sacrifices himself, when Jack (didn't realize it at the time, maybe) goes out with a bang and when James–in his passion for his country, for honor and for what he thought was _right– _cuts that rope.

She owes them all something, and sometimes, she hates it.


	4. Self Mutilation

**A/N: **Okay, so I lied. There are continuations of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly that totally aren't related too them. They're simply too short to make stories and I don't want to waste space, so they're coming here. Enjoy.

* * *

**Self-Mutilation**_ (Jack Sparrow)  
_

He stabs one that tries to eat a peanut and another whispers in his ear.

He shoots one that fucks up the ropes and another cackles in the corner.

He's seeing more than one of himself and it's driving him nuts.

The one in his ear laughs softly. _You weren't that already?_

He tells it pointedly to shut-up.


	5. Effervescent

**Effervescent **_(Boot-Strap Bill)  
_

Memory is like a flame to him; fast, darting, burning and quick. It is so very hot and yet at the same time so dangerously fragile that one small gust of wind can easily blow it out.

When he understood what his memory was, that frightened him.

Now he doesn't remember much at all.


End file.
